The largest island of the former British West Indies, Jamaica is 234 km (145 miles) long and 80 km (50 miles) wide. After being a British colony since 1655, the island has been an independent nation since 1962. Kingston, on the south coast, is the capital, the largest city and the most important port of the country.
The Prime Minister of Jamaica (also, the head of government of Jamaica) is currently Portia Simpson Miller, a Jamaican politician who served as the country’s first female prime minister (2006-07) and was elected to a second term in 2012. Jamaica it is one of the few global communities that still embraces the Westminster System of Government. She has contributed to the infrastructure of this beautiful and fascinating island.
Transport
Roads: Jamaica’s road network spans almost 21,000 kilometers of roads, of which more than 15,000 kilometers are paved. The Highway 2000 project, which ultimately seeks to connect Kingston with Montego Bay and the North Shore, is currently in a series of phases/stages.
Railways – Railways in Jamaica no longer enjoy the prominent position they once had, having been largely replaced by roads as the primary mode of transportation. Of the 169 miles (272 km) of railway found in Jamaica, only 35 miles (57 km) remain in operation, currently used to transport bauxite. Jamaica is one of the major producers of bauxite and about a third of Jamaica’s bauxite is shipped unprocessed.
Air Transportation: There are 3 airports in Jamaica. Norman Manley International Airport, formerly known as Palisadoes Airport, serves Kingston in Jamaica. There are more than 130 international flights a week departing from Norman Manley International Airport. This airport is located in the tombolo of Palisadoes on the outskirts of Kingston Harbor and faces the city on one side and the Caribbean Sea on the other. The airport was named in honor of Norman Washington Manley.
Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay is one of the largest, busiest and most modern airports in the Caribbean, capable of handling nine million passengers per year. Sangster is often referred to as the gateway to the Caribbean and is the Caribbean hub for many airlines. It serves as the most popular airport for tourists visiting the north coast of Jamaica. The airport is named after the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Sir Donald Sangster. There are over 1.7 million visitors to Jamaica, of which over 70% use SIA as their primary airport. Approximately 95% of the total passengers at SIA are internationally traveling passengers.
Ian Fleming International Airport, formerly Boscobel Aerodrome, is an airport located in Boscobel, Saint Mary Parish, Jamaica. The airport provides service to the United States and other Caribbean islands. It was named after Ian Fleming, the creator of the James Bond novels, whose Goldeneye estate is located in the parish of St Mary. The airport is designed to handle private and commercial aircraft as large as the Cessna Citation Excel.
Seaports, navigation and lighthouses
Jamaica has a total of 15 ports. The ports of Kingston and Montego Bay are world-class seaports. In fact, the port of Kingston was estimated to be the seventh largest transshipment port (a port where goods arrive for distribution by other means) in the world, according to the EIU country profile for 1997-1998. However, Jamaica has lost some international shipping business due to the high cost of shipping operations in the country. Jamaica has seven historic lighthouses.
Energy
Jamaica is dependent on oil imports to meet its domestic energy needs. Many test sites have been explored for oil, but no commercially viable quantities have been found. The most convenient sources of imported oil and motor fuels (diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel) are from Mexico and Venezuela.
Communication
Jamaica has a fully digital telephone communication system with mobile penetration. The country has three mobile operators: Cable and Wireless, Digicel and Oceanic Digital. Flow Jamaica is the newest entrant in Jamaican communications that has laid a new submarine cable connecting Jamaica to the United States. This new cable increases to four the total number of submarine cables that connect this place with the rest of the world.
If you are looking forward to traveling to this place, book a ticket and get a free transfer to Jamaica.
Enjoy a trip to this fascinating island and feel engrossed in all the Jamaican activities.
